Police name 2 men persons of interest in murders of 4 women found in trunks

Police today took two men in for questioning in connection with the murders of four Detroit women — including three who had ties to an online classifieds website featuring escort ads — and have executed a search warrant on a home in Sterling Heights, an official said.

On two occasions in December, women were found dead in car trunks — first cousins Renisha Landers and Demesha Hunt and then friends Natasha Curtis and Vernithea McCrary. Police have said three of the women had ties to Backpage.com.

“We see a direct link between them and the girls,” he said, declining to go into specifics.

[B]ackpage.com attorney Steve Suskin wrote in a statement that nearly two dozen websites that include escort ads were linked to the investigation into the women’s deaths. The statement said Backpage.com provided police with detailed information about 70 different escort ads appearing on 22 other websites, but did not say how many of the victims were believed to be involved in those other ads.